RE: Bq soon:Why this discussion again ?

["Neil, David M" <neildm@id.doe.gov>]

Interesting to see the cross-fertilization between cultures/languages.   The cigarette slogan seems to have come from American English - especially if the brand is named after a Saharan beast of burden.  The boots came into English as Seven League Boots - don't even go there as to what a league is ;-) .   144 (12^2) is used as a Gross, and is vanishing here too - mostly used in wholesale shipping.



By the way, a mile is (was) a standardized measure, but the standard is no longer available.  No more Roman soldiers to march 1000 paces...



Dave Neil



-----Original Message-----

From: Franz Schoenhofer [mailto:franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT]

Sent: Sunday, December 31, 1995 7:52 PM

To: William Prestwich; Jean-Francois, Stephane

Cc: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: AW: Bq soon:Why this discussion again ?



We have in Austria (and Germany) meters, kilometers, kilogramms, metric tons

etc for what seems to be since centuries. But still we use "old" units. Just

to give you a few well working examples:

We had the advertising of "I would go for miles to find a ... (cigarette

brand)", "Kreuzer" (old monetary unit of very low value) for a low monetary

value, in old fairy tales "Sieben-Meilen-Stiefel" (boots which would enable

you to cover by just one step seven miles - please do not ask me, what these

miles were - German, Austrian, English, Swedish....). In Germany you still

find the "Pfund" (pound) at the market places, which is close to half a

kilogram. For eggs you have the dozen (12), the old unit of Schock (12 times

12) has practically vanished. If a place is very far away, we say it is

"miles away". In Sweden by the way, a "mile" is ten kilometers!



Einstein claimed, that everything is relative. Though his comment is not

applicable for the measurement unit used in this world in his own sense, it

seems that it is in this respect and discussion.....



Franz













We are a nation with two languages, and should also be one with two

systems of units. There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling meat by

the pound, cloth by the yard and gasoline by the gallon, while using Bq,

Gy, Sv, km kg etc professionally. I admire you folks in the USA for not

succumbimg to what amounts to a destruction of your heritage by using the

imperial system(more Roman than British really) in your every day life.

Cheers,

Bill Prestwich



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